Refrigerating apparatus



Oct. 25, 1932. c. B. MYERS REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed April 30, 1928 amulet attozmq Patented a. 2s, 1932 UNITED STATES PATEM'I OFFICE CHARLES B. HY ERS, OF DAYTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO FRIGIDAIRE CORPORATION, OF

DAYTON, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Application filed April 30, 1928. Serial No. 273,957.

This invention relates to refrigerating apparatus and particularly to an improved construction of a refrigerating element.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide an improved refrigerating element of the dry expansion type which both freezes ice and cools the cabinet effectively.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved form of refrigerating ele ment having an ice-freezing portion and an air cooling portion in which the freezing portion is protected from the higher temperature in the neighborhood of the cooling portion.

Another object of the invention is to simplify and reduce the cost of manufacturing refrigerating elements of this type.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent fromthe following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred form of embodiment of the present invention is clearly shown.

' In the drawing: I

.Fig. 1 is an elevation of a refrigeratin'g'cabinet showing a cooling unit constructed according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section of .a portion of the cabinet showing the refriger-, ating element in front elevation, partly broken away;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation, partly in section of the refrigerating element; and

Fig. 4 is a section 'on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawing, designates a refrigerating cabinet of any suitable construction having a food storage compartment 11 containing a refrigerating element 12, and a. machine compartment closed by a door 13. The refrigerating element shown is of the dry expansion type and includes any suitable expansion valve15 for supplying refrigerantat a substantially constant pressure to a single continuous evaporating conduit generally denoted by 17. Refrigerant is supplied to the expansion valve by an inlet conduit 18 and the evaporated refrigerant is withdrawn thru the exhaust conduit 20 by. any suitable condensing element which may be disposed in the machine compartment.

The conduit 17 may be, and preferably is, formed of a plurality of individual sections connected together in series, including a plurality of freezing portions 22 and a cooling portion formed into a generally rectangular but helical coil 23. Each of the freezing sections is preferably a fiat serpentine coil as shown in Fig. 4, soldered between a pair of plates 25 and 25a which form a hollow shelf for supporting an ice making container 26. Each shelf is a freezing unit, any number of which may be connected in series to form a freezing element of the desired size. The connections are shown at 27 in Fig. 3. The use of a hollow shelf permits the freezing units to be used either side up, which facilitates assembling and connecting the individual units. A casing or shield 28 is provided for enclosing and supporting the shelves and this preferably is formed from a sheet in which are pressed or embossed ribs 30, the ribs serving as grooves for receiving the hollow shelves and as spacers projecting from the outside of the shell to space the coolingcoil 23 from the casing. Any desired number of freezing units are placed Within the casingand connected in series with each other between the expansion valve and the cooling coil 23. The convolutions of the coil are held'in place by being clamped between pairs of stays '31 and 32 at the top and by being soldered to a stay 33 at the bottom. The casing .28 may be held in place within the cooling coil by soldering the spacers to a few of the convolutions of the coil.

In order to increase the effectiveness of the cooling coil a U-shaped fin 35 is soldered to each convolution, each fin extending substantially from top to bottom and across the bottom of the coil. The cooling coil is taller than the casing 28 in order to utilize for cooling air the space above the casing in which the expansion valve 15 is located. The coilv stays 31 are adapted to act as supports for the refrigerating element in the cabinet and for this purpose they are extended at and 41 toprcvide lugs for receiving bolts 43 secured to brackets 44 attached to the cabinet in any'suitable manner. The lugs 41 are also adapted to support a bar 45 to which the suring intimate thermal contact between the freezing element and the entire bottom-of the container, this relation of container and freezing portion.

freezing element having been demonstrated to be the most effective. Moreover the freezing portion is separated from the air-cooling portion (considerably warmer than the freezing portion) and is protected by the casing 28 from the relatively warm currents of circulating air. The portion of the conduit 17 nearest the expansion valve is the coldest, and this is utilized to produce a very low temperature, while the portion more remote from the expansion valve is warmer than the freezing portion, but is sufiiciently cold to chill the air to the required cabinet temperature. Thus the cooling portion is intended to absorb all the heat which is to be removed from the air, leaving none to be absorbed by the This arrangement considerably accelerates the freezing of ice.

While the form of embodiment of the present invention as, herein shown constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that,

- other forms might be adopted, all coming 7 within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. Refrigerating apparatus including in combination a casing for enclosing an icemaking container, a hollow shelf within the casing for supporting a container, said hollow shelfhavingits rear end open, a single continuous conduit for circulating refrigerant including a portion formed into a planar serpentine 'freezing coil extending within said hollow shelf from the rear and aportion formed into a cooling coil surrounding the casing. v

'2. Refrigerating apparatus including in combination a casing for enclosing a plurality of ice-making containers, a plurality of hollow shelves within the casing for supporting a plurality of containers, the rear ends of said hollow shelves being open, an expansion valve positioned above the casing, a single continuous conduit connected to the expansion valve and extending rearwardly therefrom, a serpentine freezing coil con-' nected to said conduit and extending within one of the hollow shelves from the rear, said freezing coil being connected to a second freezing coil extending within a second hollow' shelf from the rear and a conduit connected to the second serpentine coil formedinto a cooling coil surrounding the casing.

3. Refrigerating apparatus including in combination, a casing for enclosing ice-making containers, a plurality of hollow shelves within the casing for supporting a plurality frigerant inc 1,as4,12e

viding box cooling sur aces, means for supplying refrigerant through said conduit first to said freezing coils and then to said box cooling surfaces of the conduit.

4. A cooling unit for a mechanical refrigcrating system comprising a plurality of v elongated horizontally disposed compartments adapted to receive and support receptacles to be cooled, a refrigerant evaporating conduit including a plurality of vertically extending loops wound around certain of said compartments, said conduit also including a plurality of fiat loops disposed in a horizontal plane and in intimate thermal contact with a horizontal wall of one of said compartments.

5. A cooling unit for a mechanical refrigerating system comprisin a plurality of elongated superimposed orizontally disposed compartments adapted to receive and support receptacles to be cooled, a refrigerant evaporatln conduit including a plural ity of vertica 1y extending loops wound around certain of said com artments, said conduit also including a p urality of flat loops disposed in a horizontal plane and in intimate thermal contact with the bottom wall of at least one of said compartments.

6. An evaporator for a refrigerating apparatus comprising an elongated horizontally disposed sharp freezing chamber, refrigerant conveyin duct means traversing the side walls and a orizontal wall of said sharp freezing chamber, refrigerant conveyin duct means connected with said first name duct means and traversing a portion of one end of said chamber, and refrigerant conveying duct means spaced from said first named duct means and connected only with said second named duct means, said last named duct means extending horizontally into said chamber to divide the interior thereof into a plurality of sharp freezing compartments and to provide a support within said chamber .for

supporting a receptacle to be cooled.

7. An evaporator for a refrigerating apparatus comprising an elongated horizontally disposed sharp freezing chamber, refrigerant conveying duct means traversing the side walls, the top wall and at least a portion of the bottom wall of said sharp freezing chamber, refrigerant conveying duct means connected with said first named duct means and traversing a portion of one end of said chamber, and refrigerant conveying duct means spaced from said first named duct means and connected only with said second named duct means, said last named duct means extending horizontally into said chamber to divide the interior thereof into a pluv rality of sharp freezin compartments and to provide a support wit in said chamber for so porting a receptacle to be cooled.

3 En testimony whereof I hereto aflix my signature.

CHARLES B. MYERS. 

